Silver from Colorado to be used as gift for pope

Silver extracted from a gold mine in Colorado will be used to craft Pope Francis’ liturgical vessels.
The 3 ounces of silver, from the “In God We Trust” mine in Alma, will be used to create one of several vessels used during Mass, including a chalice and spoon, which will be presented to the...

Silver extracted from a gold mine in Colorado will be used to craft Pope Francis’ liturgical vessels.

The 3 ounces of silver, from the “In God We Trust” mine in Alma, will be used to create one of several vessels used during Mass, including a chalice and spoon, which will be presented to the pope in Rome. Before sending the shipment to silversmith Adrian Tallarols in Argentina, Father Jason Thureauf of

Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Wheat Ridge blessed it with holy water.

“We wanted to make this happen as a gift on behalf of our parish and the citizens of Colorado to give something from Colorado to be used by the pope,” said Zachary Urban, a parishioner of Sts. Peter and Paul.

On his honeymoon in Argentina, Urban, 34, and his wife, Melinda, stopped by Tallarols’ shop and discovered that he had made vessels for Pope Benedict. Then when Pope Francis was selected, Urban thought about Tallarols, who he had stayed in touch with via email and social media.

“It clicked that the pope is from Argentina and my friend is from Argentina,” Urban recalled.

Urban contacted Tallarols and asked if he would be making liturgical vessels for the new pope and if Urban could send silver for him to use. After speaking with several people, Urban found a Fort Collins man who had a private reserve of silver, including some from the Alma mine.

Urban spent $145 on the silver, carefully tucked it into a Maplewood box marked with the sign of the Holy Spirit and shipped it to Tallarols’ workshop. Urban said the silver will be mixed with silver from South America.

“It has a lot of symbolism in mixing the different cultures together and different pieces of the Catholic church together,” he said. “I think it provides an opportunity to show we all become one church together.”